Miracles
by superlazygirl
Summary: Full of uncertainty, Ursa turns to the only person she can think of for help. “Miracles are something that we make happen.” OneShot.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. It owns me.

**Summary:** Full of uncertainty, Ursa turns to the only person she can think of for help – her sister-in-law. "Miracles are something that we make happen." OneShot.

**Miracles**

- - - - -

As a woman more prone to action than offering verbal reassurances, Aneko gave comfort as best she could. Ursa's head lay in the older woman's lap, her bed robes now slightly damp from tears, and Aneko's hand gently ran threw the soft silk of dark hair, finger-combing the tangles out.

It was an intimate scene and an ignorant eye might mistake the two women for sisters. A closer inspection would reveal that their relationship was not bound by blood. They had in their lifetimes been described as beauties, but of two very different types. Ursa was the classical beauty – pale complexion, playful amber eyes, and long dark lashes that rested on a pearl smooth cheek. Aneko was darker toned than most any woman in the Fire Nation. She was not noticeably stunning, but she possessed an understated beauty that invited one to take a second look.

In the bedroom of Aneko, wife of Iroh and future Fire Lady, she sat on her bed of fine silk with her sister-in-law, whom she regarded with affection. Their friendship began at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls and had only grown stronger over time. As the daughters of noble families they had been trained since childhood to achieve the most important goal of any woman of privilege. An advantageous marriage. Both girls, so different and yet so similar, had one important trait in common. They were bright, cunningly so, and by joining forces they had risen above the competition to find themselves married to the two princes of the Fire Nation. They were both strong-willed and when they set their minds on a goal nothing in heaven or earth could get in their way. Many a poor bastard had found this out the hard way.

"I don't know what to do," Ursa's words cut through the darkness of the early morning hour. "We've been married for three years and I haven't been pregnant once."

"These things take time." Her words felt strange on her lips. Aneko knew the shame in store for a wife who failed her first and most sacred duty in life. Ozai's ambition was not lost to them and if his wife could not produce an heir he may go looking elsewhere. Aneko didn't doubt the strength of Ozai and Ursa's commitment, but the royal bloodline needed to be maintained.

Ursa regarded the older woman with a skeptical look. "Not for you," she retorted. "Your husband is barely home and yet you bore him a son after only a year of marriage." Lutan was a picture of health and intelligence. Young though the prince was, he was already beginning to show a talent for firebending and his tutors praised his skill. He was truly his father's son.

Ursa loved Lutan, he was her nephew after all, but she couldn't deny that she was slightly jealous. She voiced the fear that she had held for some time, "What if I'm barren?"

"These years of marriage must have softened you. The Ursa I know wouldn't lose hope so easily." Aneko wasn't one to tolerate weakness, especially from someone she respected. "Have you considered the possibility that the fault isn't yours?"

If this took Ursa by surprise she did nothing to show it. Honestly, the thought had crossed her mind, but even if that was true it did little to soften her anxiety. Ozai would never admit to this, it would be a huge blow to his pride. Besides, the responsibility of bearing children lies almost entirely with the wife. If no heir was produced it would be Ursa who was blamed.

And it wasn't as though she hadn't tried.

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is," she finally spoke.

"Doesn't it?" Aneko's eyes glittered.

Ursa recognized the look her friend's eyes. It was the same look she had gotten when forming the plans that eliminated their competition in the past. Aneko wasn't inherently cruel, but in pursuit of a goal her single-mindedness had driven her to questionable actions, with Ursa as partner-in-crime. "What do mean?"

"Perhaps it's time to take more drastic measures. If Ozai can not give you a son maybe someone else can."

"That's enough!" Ursa lifted her head out of Aneko's lap to face her directly. To even suggest that she would be unfaithful to her husband was lunacy. It was one thing for a man to be unfaithful, but a wife's infidelity was met with serious consequences. "I would never betray Ozai."

Aneko was unwavering. "It would not be a betrayal. Your chief duty is to produce an heir and that's exactly what you're going to do." Aneko had never been one for popularity, but those few people that managed not to annoy her, and even fewer that became close friends, were given undying loyalty. She was fiercely protective of her family. When Ursa gazed into those hard eyes she had no doubts as to why Iroh, the Dragon of the West, chose Aneko as his wife. If Iroh was a dragon then Aneko was a she-dragon.

"Even if I was foolish enough to go along with this, I doubt Ozai would be so easily tricked. Wouldn't he notice that his child held no resemblance to him?"

"Yes, that would be a problem." Aneko feigned a thoughtful look. "Unless the father was closely related to your husband."

Ursa's eyes widened in shock before narrowing into a look of daggers. She swiftly made her way towards the door without another word, but Aneko was quicker. The older woman blocked her way out.

"Just listen to me," Aneko insisted.

The younger woman stood rigid. "We have been friends for a very long time and I love you like you were blood, but what you are suggesting is disgraceful."

"More disgraceful than never producing an heir for your husband? More disgraceful than being one of many wives your husband will be forced to marry because you have been declared barren? Don't be so rushed to judge."

Ursa's mind was spinning. The consequences were heavy either way.

She saw her friend soften and made her move. "As brothers, I doubt Ozai would be able to tell that it was Iroh who sired the child and not him. Your husband would have his heir and your place as his honorable wife would no longer be in jeopardy."

"Honorable?" She spat. "What honor is there in this plan of yours?"

"You always were stubborn," Aneko muttered. "But I never took you for a fool. What other solution is there?"

Ursa tried desperately to find a different answer, but none came. Logically, Aneko's plan had merit, but if they were caught…

Ursa's loyalty to Ozai was unwavering. To go against her vows of marriage to pursue her own interests went against her principles. But then again, it wasn't strictly for her own interests. It was for Ozai's too, wasn't it? And if he were blind to the affair then what harm would it do? "What about you?"

Aneko wasn't thrilled at the prospect of her husband being with another woman, even if the woman was Ursa and Aneko herself was an accomplice in the conspiracy. But their love was strong and the marriage would survive the blow. If Ursa didn't produce a son then her marriage would not. "I just received a letter from Iroh this morning. He will return home from the battlefield in a week's time. He cares for you as much as I do, I'm sure I can convince him of the urgency of the situation. Leave everything to me."

Ursa shook her head. No. She couldn't do this. She clung desperately to the last shreds of her conscience.

Aneko firmly grabbed her by the shoulders. "Desperate times call for desperate actions. We did not come all this way to for you trip at the finish line. Will you let everything we went through be for nothing just because of your fastidious nature? Do you love Ozai?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to be a mother?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to fulfill your duties as a wife and princess of the Fire Nation?"

"A thousand times, yes!"

"Then wipe the tears away and do something about it. People are not victims of their circumstances, only of their state of mind. If you believe you will fail then you've already admitted defeat. But if you believe that nothing is outside your reach then victory is yours. Miracles are something that we make happen."

Ursa stared into the eyes of her sister-in-law and felt as though Aneko's strength was seeping into her, making her bolder. The years seem to melt away and they were girls again, sharing their dreams of living in the palace, dressed in beautifully ornate dresses, and their every whim being tended to.

Now they were living that dream. But it wasn't by accident, they had _made_ it happen. And now it would happen again.

They would make a miracle.

- - - - -

**Author's Notes:** This is dedicated to my beta, ardy1, for all your help. If you haven't read her stories "Prison Conversations" or "Sabotage" go read them. Now.


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